Creation of a novel monitoring tool to predict abnormal coagulation in COVID-19.

已确定，对于极少数接受某些类型COVID-19疫苗的个体来说，血栓形成是一个潜在的危险因素。在COVID-19（由冠状病毒引起的传染病）检测呈阳性的人群中，有更大比例的人也经历了不适当的凝血，这导致了更严重的症状，不幸的是，这与更高的病毒相关死亡风险有关。ProAxsis是一家总部位于贝尔法斯特的公司，专门从事蛋白酶组酶的测量。凝血酶和xa因子这两种酶的水平升高与某些人患血栓的几率增加有关。这些血凝块会导致严重的健康问题，包括中风或器官衰竭。因此，正在生产COVID-19疫苗或开发治疗COVID-19患者新药的制药公司需要找到一种可靠的方法来测量这些蛋白酶，以便及早发现“有风险”的患者并进行适当治疗。在这个项目中，ProAxsis将利用其长期以来在蛋白酶化学和体外诊断开发方面的独特专业知识，创造一种全新的组合实验室测试。该测试将使用一种称为多路复用的自动化程序，同时在临床样品中测量两种关键的蛋白酶生物标志物，凝血酶和因子xa。ProAxsis拥有合适的团队和丰富的经验，可以非常快速地创建并扩展针对这些非常重要的蛋白酶靶点的组合多重测试。除了就某些疫苗可能导致血栓发生率增加的原因提供关键见解外，该项目还为受COVID-19病毒影响的患者、为他们提供临床护理的医疗保健专业团队以及开发用于治疗该病毒的新药或改造药物的制药公司带来了实质性利益。反过来，这将支持医疗保健系统，如英国国家医疗服务体系（NHS），决定他们应该从有限的预算中优先购买哪些疫苗和药物，并确定哪些患者最有可能对预期可用的新药物做出反应。该项目特别侧重于解决与COVID-19疫苗接种和治疗相关的需求，但在未来，这种新开发的测试也可以使大量患有由血液凝固增加引起的其他疾病（如中风和心脏病发作）的人受益。

The formation of blood clots has been identified as a potential risk factor for a very small proportion of individuals receiving certain types of COVID-19 vaccine.A larger proportion of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 (the infectious disease caused by the coronavirus) have also experienced inappropriate blood clotting, which has resulted in more severe symptoms and unfortunately, been associated with a higher risk of virus-related death.ProAxsis is a Belfast-based company, specialising in the measurement of a group of enzymes called proteases. Increased levels of two of this group of enzymes, thrombin and factor-Xa, has been linked to the fact that some people may have an increased chance of developing blood clots.These blood clots can lead to severe health problems including strokes or organ failure.Pharmaceutical companies who are producing COVID-19 vaccines or developing new drugs to treat COVID-19 patients therefore need to find a reliable method of measuring these proteases so that "at risk" patients can be identified early and treated appropriately.In this project, ProAxsis will use its long-standing and unique expertise in the chemistry of proteases and _in vitro_ diagnostic development to create a brand new combination laboratory test. This test will measure the two key protease biomarkers, thrombin and factor-Xa, at the same time in a clinical sample, using an automated procedure known as multiplexing.ProAxsis has the team in place, and the extensive experience required, to very rapidly create and then up-scale a combination multiplex test for these highly important protease targets.Aside from providing key insights as to why certain vaccines may lead to increased rates of blood clots, this project offers substantial benefits to the patients affected by the COVID-19 virus, the healthcare professional teams providing them with clinical care, and the pharmaceutical companies developing new or repurposed drugs for treating the virus.In turn, this will support healthcare systems such as the UK's National Health Service (NHS) to decide which vaccines and drugs they should prioritise to purchase from their limited budgets, and identify which patients are most likely to respond to the new range of drugs expected to be available.This project specifically focuses on addressing the needs associated with COVID-19 vaccination and treatment, but in the future, this newly developed test could also benefit the large number of people with other conditions caused by increased blood clotting, such as strokes and heart attacks.